Players, Diverse Bodies and Embodied Interpretation: Issues in Research Design

Diane Carr's paper outlines the research design for a study of disabled players' interpretations of science fiction themed games. Its central argument is that play is an embodied activity, and that accounts of player embodiment which assume a standardized or universal body are inadequate. The study therefore aims to develop an account of embodied meaning-making grounded in the dynamic relationship between bodies, lived experience, knowledge, and interpretation, drawing on critical disability studies in particular.

The paper frames the project against a backdrop in which science fiction and games frequently depict disability through technological cure or augmentation, while clinical and medical models continue to treat disability as an individual deficit to be hidden or fixed. Against these dominant models, the work draws on social and embodied conceptions of disability that emphasize environmental construction and the epistemological value of lived experience. Its primary aim is to unsettle prevailing discourses linking disability and technology.

Methodologically, the design is presented as a work in progress rather than a set of findings. It describes a review of literature spanning game studies, Internet studies, fan studies, and critical disability studies, consultation with experts in audience studies and participatory research, and the building of relationships with community "gatekeepers" to support chain-referral sampling. The authors also propose creative methods of data co-construction. No sample size, data results, or empirical conclusions are reported, as the study is at a preparatory stage.

Ethically, the paper emphasizes the historical exploitation of disabled people in academic research, the under-representation of disabled scholars, and the marginalization of disability topics in the academy and game studies. The authors commit to collaborating with players, avoiding artificial homogenization of disability, and fostering opportunities for critique and dissent, with ethical reflection treated as an ongoing process.